Real Estate Home Inspections & Permits

April 17, 2020

When looking to purchase a new home, make sure the Real Estate Home Inspection & permit status are scrutinized. Make sure to hire a real estate home inspector, who has a proven track record with identifying foundation problems and building permit research.

Foundation Problems

In my 30+ years of construction, I have inspected numerous homes with foundation problems. New homeowners, after taking up residence, often discover signs of building settlement. Building settlement is usually a result of and underlying foundation problems. Some of these foundation problems are a result of the previous owner, masking over serious foundation issues. Foundation repairs can cost thousands of dollars. Knowing the signs of foundation problems can avoid, a poor real estate purchasing decision. With improved foundation analysis, the better off you’ll be with your new home purchase.

Problems Soil Areas:

Check With Your State & Local Building Departments For Building Code Compliance

Alexandria, VA

Arlington, VA.

Fairfax County

Prince William County

Loudoun County

Check with your local building departments for additional information. Extensive soil mapping reports and drawings exist. This information is available to the public. Soil mapping reports will identify the problem soils areas. Identification of the problem soils areas, allows you to make an informative home purchase decision. Real Estate home inspections for these market areas need additional scrutiny and attention.

Foundation Repairs & Warning Signs

Foundation Problem Warning Signs

Exterior Cracks

Interior Drywall Cracks

Doors and Windows Out of Square

Brick Separation from Exterior Framing

Rotten Wood – Pier & Beams

Sagging, Bouncing & Uneven Floors

Floor & Wall Tile Cracks

Concrete Slab Separation & Cracking

Nails Pops Out of Drywall

Walls Separation from the House

Home Inspectors

Your professional home inspector, should be knowledgeable and experienced with foundation problems and detection. Make sure your home inspector is a true professional in Real Estate Home Inspections & Building Permit Research.

Check On The Home Inspector’s Credentials

Qualifications:

How many years of dedicated home inspection experience.

Review types of qualifications and experience.

Scrutinized sample inspection reports.

Permits

What Is an Open Permit?

An open permit typically means no final inspection has been completed for permitted work.

Overlooked Permits

Permits are often an overlooked in real estate transactions. When performing your real estate due diligence, building permit status is a must. Failure to identify an open building permit can have expensive consequences.

Permit Issuance

Homeowner’s are often required to secure a building permits for construction work. The local municipality will grant a building permit for work as described on the permit. As the work progresses certain inspections may be required. With the completion of the work, a final inspection is performed by the local building department. At the time of final inspection, the government official will provide their final approval. Final approval, results in a closed permit.

Plans For Permitted Home Building Project

Open Permits

There are several reasons why a permit may remain open. Open permits can be a result of not starting or completing the described work. Permit issuance is attached to the property address. Failure to abide by building code compliance responsibility will be transferred to the new property owner.

Expiration Dates

Building permits typically have expiration dates. Adherence to the building code expiration date is important. Some municipalities treat expired permits differently. With the many municipalities you (the property owner) may required to reactivate the existing permit or secure a new building permit. The side effects can be expensive.

Active Permit & Compliance

With your building permit now active, you can now get started. Based on the open permit violation, your true nightmare might begin. From the removal of all non compliance work and revision of all work, the costs can be extreme.

Building Code Violation

Building code violations can result in the imposition of a fines. The imposed fines can be a one time fee or even daily fines for non compliance.

Building Code Revisions

With constant building code upgrades, the local government may demand you complete all work to the current building code standards. This means all non finalized and inspected work may need to be revised, to current building code compliance. This can mean a huge expense. The removal of materials for access and inspection, could mean thousands of dollars in unexpected expenditures.

Permit Inspections

Building Inspector On Site For Inspection

The issuance of all permits often require periodic and final inspections. Make sure to comply with the building code officials. Make sure your Real Estate home inspections include open permit and non permitted research investigation.

Complications

You can see how any open permit can be a real headache. With necessary permit compliance, you face additional expenses, as the new property owner. These additional and unforeseen expenses can mean thousands of dollars.

Open Permit Search

Contact the local building permit office for additional information. The permit office, will have a record of all permit activity. As a reminder, the purchaser will have to address all open permits and non compliance issues with ownership of the new home and property.

Non Permitted Work

You, the new homeowner, do not want to pay for non permitted work. As you can see, this can be an expensive proposition. With the inflated home costs and repairs costs for code compliance, this is a terrible outcome.

Questions

I Need Answers

Why are building permits required for construction?

Building permit issuance, provide protection to the property owner (code compliance) and record all improvements to the associated address.

Can a homeowner pull their own permits?

In many jurisdictions, the homeowner can pull permits for improvements to their property.

What happens if you get caught building without a permit?

Fines may be assessed to the property and property owner.

What happens if you renovate without a permit?

Work completed without a permit can risk the future sale of your home. Home renovations and improvements without permits should not be listed on the property description.

Can I sell a house with unpermitted work?

This often happens and provides expensive and agonizing repairs and costs.

What is the penalty for remodeling without a permit?

The property owner is susceptible to costly fines.

How do I know if someone pulled my permit?

Often times you will see a building permit placard placed in the window. If you have doubts, contact your local building department.

Always Obtain A Permit

Check with your local building department for code compliance and details.

No Permit Discovery

No Permit, Now What?

Stop All Work

In and around 2007, I had dealings with a new residential home owner. The homeowner had recently purchased a single home in the Alexandria, Virginia area (Route 1 Corridor). This home had a finished basement with a bedroom and new bath. The new homeowner secured a permit for some new work, at her home. With periodic inspections of the permitted work, the inspector noticed the work in the basement. A quick search at the inspector’s office indicated all basement work had been completed without a permit. With this new discovery, the inspector halted all construction work.

Moving Forward

The homeowner was obligated to secure new building permits for the basement remodeling project. This resulted in new and additional home improvement costs. Moving forward the work required a near and complete demolition of existing work. The new bathroom (non permitted) plumbing had to be redone. All tile, framing and paint work needed to be redone. The removal and replacement of all basement remodeling work added up to an excess of $50,000.00 dollars. With $50,000.00 added to the full retail price of the home, this new home purchase had a disastrous financial and emotional result. Had the homeowner or the real estate agent known to check for building permit updates and status, this situation could have been avoided.

Your Home Purchase Is Free Of Foundation Problems & Open Permit Issues

The Claim Buster eBook is written to help those who have been injured in a car accident, and those who weren’t injured but have a property damage claim with an insurance company.

Summary

A foundation problem, open permit or both can add a huge expense to you, the new homeowner. With proper real estate home inspections and open permit research, you can ensure a great new home purchase decision. This is always a welcome outcome. Contact Dirt Connections Anytime.

Chuck Moore at Dirt Connections really goes above and beyond to help his customers with all their trucking needs! My company, Benchmark Utility Services, has used Dirt Connections for many jobs and they always deliver for us!

Dirt Connections is amazing. I had a few people string me along promising good quality fill dirt but never delivering. Dirt Connections showed up at 7am the next morning! We discussed my unique needs. He told me I needed twice as much as my contractor suggested. He was correct. Dirt showed up same day! Would strongly recommend.

Chuck does a great job at taking care of customers. He walked us through the whole process, and made us feel at home about our siding and brick repair. I am going to call Chuck and Dirt Connections about our future bathroom and concrete driveway remodeling as well. Great guy, great company, thanks Chuck!

I gave Dirt Connections a call about a week ago to see what they could do about remodeling the bathroom at my house. Chuck answered the phone, was extremely polite and knowledgeable, and pointed me in the right direction! I thought the quote was very affordable, and will be recommending him to my friends. 5 out of 5 stars.

If you are looking for quality home improvements, this is the company for you. They were on time, courteous and went beyond our expectations with the addition they did for us. Would recommend them highly and definitely use them again!

On behalf of the Trustees of Bruen Chapel United Methodist Church, I see hallmarks of this project (filling a 6 foot sinkhole) by Dirt Connections as the contractor's extremely prompt response and the thorough accomplishment of the work. The project was wrapped up much faster than I had estimated, given the issues that heavy rain has caused all over Fairfax County.

I worked with Chuck who was VERY accommodating. He worked hard to get me clean fill which is not guaranteed. He was easy to get a hold of and quick to respond. If I ever need dirt again this is where I will go.

This is the second time I've worked with Chuck. The service is stellar A+, very organized, on-time and they are flexible on delivery. The fill dirt is clean. Chuck goes above and beyond to service his clients and most of all I appreciate they level of communication. This level of service is difficult to find in NOVA.

LandArt Associates, LLC utilizes Dirt Connections services whenever performing projects in the Northern VA/DC area. We have used them on small and large projects and the service is always outstanding. It is always a welcome relief when you have a company that is consistently dependable.

Chuck Moore and his staff have helped our family with multiple projects, including moving, snow removal, and water remediation! They're always willing to help, and they do so quickly and professionally! We would strongly recommend them to anyone needing any of their services! Thank you for everything, Chuck!!

Working with them was a remarkable experience, starting with the communication, punctuality, the delivery and the quality of soil. Everything was coordinated precisely to my expectations. Highly recommend if you are in need of soil.

Chuck took the time to walk me through the entire process. He met with me multiple times and was on site the first day the dirt was delivered to help coordinate dirt placement. I would not hesitate to use him in the future.

I had such a fantastic experience working with Chuck at Dirt Connections, and I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone for any project. I contracted with Chuck to remove an old pool at our new home. During our first call, he clearly explained both options for the project, and he was the first contractor I brought out after we closed on the home. Chuck was so helpful and informative, and the price he quoted me so reasonable, that I didn't meet with anyone else. I honestly didn't (and still don't) think there could be anyone more customer-oriented or easier to work with than Chuck and his workers/subcontractors. The guys who came to the project site were so kind, helpful, respectful, and communicative. They checked in with me on each step, and at the beginning and end of each day. They cleaned the site thoroughly at the end, including pressure washing my driveway, and even my husband (who'd wanted to keep the pool) had to admit they did an amazing job and graded the yard so well afterward. I even found out after they'd left on the last day that the guys had hauled my empty trashcans back up from the curb for me just to be nice! Chuck knows his stuff, hires great people, and is so kind and easy to work with. If I had the opportunity again, I would definitely work with him on any project his company handles. Highly recommended!

Dirt Connections is great! Chuck is reliable and responsive and was able to get me all the dirt I needed for my job. Also willing to discuss other projects and reasonably priced. Overall great team and plan on using them again!

If you're looking for affordable fill dirt/top soil, excellent customer service, and responsiveness - Chuck at Dirt Connections is your guy! Our dirt needs made our project stressful, but Chuck was there to walk us thru the whole process and ensured we were taken case of, and he was available to answer any questions - even during evening hours and on Sundays. If you come across Dirt Connections during your search - look no further, Chuck is your guy. Thanks Chuck!

Chuck was great and very friendly. He worked with me to get an order filled quickly and the dirt was delivered as promised. Chuck kept me in the loop during each step of the way. Definitely recommend working with him.

I had a wonderful experience with Dirt Connections. It couldn't have been any easier or faster. Chuck contacted me immediately after I placed my order and had the dirt delivered to me in less than 24 hours. I would highly recommend this service!

We hired Dirt Connections for an inground pool demolition and they were fantastic. These are good folks that made us feel confident that the job would be done well and it was. It wasn't cheap but it was definitely money well spent.They came out to survey the job for an estimate within a couple days of my request. Chuck was very personable and professional, clearly describing everything they would be doing and answering many questions I hadn't even thought of. The next day I had the proposal in my inbox with the cost and, again, clearly describing the job and what I could expect from them and it was very easy to read and understand. Very shortly after I accepted the proposal Martir called and we arranged payment (made very convenient) and he got the permit request in right away. As for the crew, they were on time or early, answered any questions I had, were a pleasure to have around, and were right on schedule completing the job. They were thoughtful as well, among other touches making sure to grade the new dirt (soon to be new yard) so rain water would flow correctly to avoid pooling and when they left on the last day everything was cleaned up including sweeping the dirt off of the end of the driveway.

I contacted Chuck because I needed 15 loads of dirt for a rather large project in my backyard. I can’t say enough good things about my experience. Not only did he save me thousands off what I was quoted by local companies in Stafford County. His follow up in making sure everything was on time and completed is a rarity in today’s world. If you need dirt and you live in northern Virginia I highly suggest calling them.

I had a great overall experience working with Chuck. I spent weeks searching for a company that could strengthen and raise my foundation approx. 2 inch. Dirt connections was able to execute this job on time, beyond expectations, and at a fair price. Chuck is very knowledgable and has a ton of experience in the industry. He cares about the success of the customer and is honest with expectations. I would definitely recommend Dirt Connections for your foundation/structural needs. I plan to work with them on future projects.

Chuck and Co. were responsive and careful to help develop the scope of the need for my project. The instructions to receive the load were explicit and they made sure I knew what I was getting. The delivery (1/2 truckload) was timely and as promised.

Chuck and his team were simply great. I needed fill dirt for repairing some torn up pastures. I got 30 truck loads and Chuck was always responsive and informative about the process and details. I will definitely use Dirt Connections again.

Chuck over at Dirt Connections is excellent. He quickly arranged for a drop off of fill dirt, and was courteous all the while. On the day of the drop off, I requested an alteration to the original order, which he took in stride. Chuck is not only honest, but he comes across as a good person - the opposite of which I had read about fill dirt movers. I highly recommend anyone needing dirt for their yards/jobs to use Dirt Connections.